Planned to head to the middle fork stan. friday morning but it snowed overnight and chains were required around Long barn, Very lucky I checked the weather and road conditions 5 mins. before heading out. Last minute change, So I headed to the Upper sac. for the first time. Fishing was tough, 3 fulll days of fishing produced 7 fish landed, countless missed bites. Most fish were about 10 inch wild bows, largest went 15 inches, All but one fish was caught using #14 and #16 princle nymphs, One on a dry, A #14 stimulator, had quit a few hits on the stimulators. After a very frustating saturday and after dropping my foreceps in the river I headed to ted fayes fly shop in dunsmuir for new foreceps and much needed advice. Had em pull me a few fly's, Everything they recomended i already had, except for a nice looking wetfly that looks alot like a bee, Later I started noticing alot of these bugs that looked alot like a cross between a bee and a housefly flying around. They also highly recomened prince nymphs, and they were right nothing else worked. The gentleman working there was kind enough to give me a 10 min. how to on the river. The river seemed high, alot of shot was needed at times. This river is so different then what I am used too, its not very deep, and good amount of current, its surprising how many fish will hold in a foot or so of water, The guy at the fly shop said that alot of fish are in fast very shallow watre, even white water. Over all a great trip, The veiws alone are worth it.
I grew up learning to fish on the Upper Sac and I can say that it is one of the most variable rivers in the country. There are about 25 miles of river from the Lake up and I still discover new spots and stretches. The river also evolves from year to year more than most, with stretches changing from year to year completely due to large storms.
It can be challenging one day and seem like the easiest river in the world the next. I will admit that when I am very frustrated, I will break down and fish the stretches that I know are heavily planted. Nothing to give you back your confidence like a school of dumb planters.
The river typically sucks this time of year with the flows too high and then gradually improves, peaking in late June-early July, but who knows this year with the light rain?
Like you said, it is a beautiful river and because there is so much river, you can always get away from the crowds if you are willing to hike it a bit.
Was the wet fly a 'Black Bomber'? That fly is probably the most reliable fly on the river, but all the generics work. Hatches are extremely localized, but once you learn them, they are reliable.
The key to consistently catching fish is to have your high stick nymphing down. During the hot part of the day, that is pretty much all I do. You can pull fish after fish out of the pocket water if you focus on this.
Captain, Nice report. That is a beautiful area. I learned to fish for trout on the Upper McCloud River which is fairly close to the Upper Sac. What weight rod were you using?
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"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."
Rod was a 4 weight meduim action, Not sure what the fly was called. Exactly what was posted earlier, the guy at the fly shop said you MUST keep a short line out and fish the pocket water, he said no more then about 12 inches of flyline out past the tip. There is so much water to cover, you cant possibly cover even a fraction of it in a few days, I seriously hiked it and didnt see many people. One thing i must say is that even though hwy. 5 runs right along alot of the river and you can walk the train tracks, I still found myself doin alot of bushwacking and climbing to get to the water. I also saw something i think was a salmon fly, about 2 to 3 inches long mostly greyish with a few red bands around it, very ugly things, the amount of insect larva in the water is incredible, always had some kinda hatch going on.
The high sticking isn't as much fun as casting dries (at least to me), but it does pay off.
You are right about the walking along the river - it is not as easy as you would think. I always end up being a bit lazy and driving from access-to-access point far too much. The best pull offs from 5 are actually the unmarked ones. You need to signal and slow down pretty fast, but once you know where they are you can get off the road pretty easily.
Over the years, I've developed my favorite spots which is both a blessing and curse. On one hand, it gives me focus for such a large stretch of water. On the other, it makes me lazy and holds me back from exploring new stretches...
